Pastila is a dessert dish that is easy and simple to prepare at home. The most common recipe for making confectionery from apples. But is it possible to cook such a delicacy from grapes and how to do it - read below.

What is pastille

Pastille is a dessert based on fruit or berry puree, which, when cooked, is condensed under the influence of high temperature. This is an original Russian dish that was first made in the city of Kolomna around the 15th century. Initially, pastille was prepared from carefully beaten apple pulp and without sugar, because sugar in Russia until the 19th century was a scarce and expensive product, so honey was added to dessert.

The beloved dessert of white apple puree, invented in Kolomna, contained whipped proteins in the recipe to give the delicacy a noble white color. The dessert recipe was kept in great secret until the 18th century, when it was launched into mass production.

Kolomensk merchants Shershavin and Kupriyanov were the first suppliers of this confectionery product, and thanks to them they even found out about pastille in the royal court of Russia. Due to baking or drying during the preparation of delicacies, it is possible to maintain a maximum of useful substances contained in fruit and berry ingredients.

If you make a delicacy based on grape pulp, then its composition per 100 g of product will be as follows:

• proteins - 2.4 g;
• fats - 2.4 g;
• carbohydrates - 70.8 g;
• dietary fiber - 6.4 g;
• water - 9.7 g.

Did you know? One of Iran’s favorite desserts is pita bread. It’s sun-dried fruit puree, sweet or sour-sweet taste, made from plums or apricots and lemon juice. The treat looks like a thin sheet of very thick marmalade.

• magnesium;
• calcium;
• sodium;
• zinc;
• riboflavin;
• thiamine;
• pantothenic acid;
• vitamin C.

The use of this confectionery product for the human body is very high due to the high content of fiber, which is part of the berry puree. The use of dessert helps to improve bowel function, and also normalizes the work of the heart muscle by lowering blood cholesterol.

Dessert is recommended to eat after a long medication, to restore the body's immunity. Due to the content of pectin, pastil helps to eliminate toxins from the body. And egg white as a part of treats has a beneficial effect on the muscular system and the preservation of skin elasticity.

• Contraindications to the use of the product:
• diabetes mellitus, in which sugar-containing products, including pastilles, are strictly prohibited;
• allergic reactions to any of the components of the dessert;
• tooth decay caries.

What varieties are best for pastilles

To make a grape pastille, you need to choose sweet berries.

For making dessert, these varieties are excellent:

How to cook pastille at home

To cook the pastille at home, you must clearly observe the sequence of actions and the proportions of the ingredients.

The sequence of actions when preparing a dessert:

1. Take 1 kg of grapes, for example Isabella, and chop it.
2. Cook crushed grapes with the addition of 30 g of starch and 50 g of sugar.
3. Pour the resulting mass onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and dry in the oven.
4. Make a dessert beautifully and serve.

Read more detailed cooking instructions below.

Video: Grape pastille

Grapes collection and preparation

The selected clusters for making pastille should be washed well. Grapes must be carefully picked from the bunch, immediately sorting and discarding rotten and damaged berries. The collected berries must be washed again and left to drain in a colander. Then you need to skip all the berries through a meat grinder or grind with a blender, wipe the resulting mass through a fine sieve to remove small bones and skin.

Boiling

The resulting puree mass from the berries should be boiled over low heat, avoiding drilling, for 2 hours. It is necessary that at the end of boiling, only half the mashed potatoes remain in the container.

When boiling, add sugar and starch immediately. Starch is put in an amount of 30 g per 1 liter of mashed grapes. Pre-starch should be mixed in 100 ml of cold water and pour in a thin stream into boiling mashed potatoes. Sugar is added according to personal preference.

Important! When starch is infused, the mass must be continuously stirred to prevent the formation of lumps.

Drying

There are two ways to dry grape pastille:

• in the oven;
• in an electric dryer.

In the oven

Step-by-step instructions for drying dessert in the oven:

1. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Spread parchment with butter in an amount of 10 g.
3. With a thin layer of 3 mm, distribute the boiled mashed potatoes on parchment.
4. Place the pan in the oven heated to + 100 ° С for 6 hours.
5. When drying, it is necessary to leave the door in the oven ajar for 2-3 cm.

In the electric dryer

Instructions for drying in an electric dryer:

1. Place special pallets in the electric dryer with parchment.
2. Grease parchment with butter in an amount of 10 g.
3. Lay out a boiled grape mass on a pallet with a 4 mm layer.
4. Place in the device and dry at + 65 ° C for 10 hours.

Sweets

You can start the formation of goodies after its full preparation.

Ready dessert:

• does not stick to hands;
• has become a darker shade;
• easily detachable from parchment.

Separating the confectionery from parchment, you need to determine its shape.

You can apply several methods of formation:

• cut into thin ribbons;
• roll into rolls;
• give shape to a spiral.

After the formation of the pastille, immediately before serving it can be sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Terms and conditions of storage

Grape lozenges are made from natural ingredients, so it has a short shelf life of only 30 days at a temperature of + 13 ° C to + 15 ° C. During storage, air humidity should not exceed 60%. The storage room should be dark, well ventilated.

It is better to put the prepared sweets in a glass jar or a cardboard box - in both cases, the bottom of the container should be lined with parchment, and then lay out the dessert. If there is a lot of pastille, it is worth spreading it in layers, each of which is also separated by parchment paper.

Important! You can not store the pastille in a plastic bag, otherwise it will become sticky and unusable.

The confectionery product can be stored longer, but only if it is cooked correctly - it must be dry. If the dessert contains excess moisture, condensation will form on it, which will lead to a softening of the structure of sweetness - this is an indicator of damage to the product.

You can store the pastille in the freezer for 12 months. In order to properly defrost a product, it must first be placed in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, and after that serve it. Grape pastille is a beloved confectionery product, famous for its wonderful taste and useful properties. Preparing and storing this delicacy is not difficult, and any housewife will be able to do it.